Family members of a man shot to death in a South Bay bar in 2006 asked his killer why he did it, but they got no answers before he was sentenced to 18 years in state prison.
The family of Willie Clark, Jr. said they had waited 12 years to find out why Guillermo Nunez Gonzalez, now 44, shot Clark, 54, in the La Vuelta, which was then located at 768 Hollister Street near Palm Avenue. The incident was on April 3, 2006.
Gonzalez didn’t say anything in court and declined to talk about his case with probation officers preparing a sentencing report. The two men did not know each other.
Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Theodore Weathers ordered Gonzalez to pay $7,499 in funeral costs. Deputy District Victor Ou said there was a disagreement in the bar between Gonzalez and someone else, but it didn’t involve Clark who was at the other end of the bar.
Gonzalez pleaded guilty Aug. 1 to voluntary manslaughter and to personal use of a firearm in a crime. He also pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon in the pistol whipping of
Alberto Alvarez in the bar, which has since been torn down and is now houses a self-storage facility.
Gonzalez fled to Mexico after the attcks and was turned over to U.S. Marshals on May 27, 2016. Ou said Gonzalez was prosecuted in Mexico for having fake identification and apparently served time in prison there before he was turned over to U.S. officials.
“We want answers. We’ve never known why,” said Mary Lopez, who is Clark’s widow.
“Willie went out to a bar to have a few drinks. Willie didn’t bother anyone in that bar.”
“My grandkids ask me ‘Where’s grandpa?’ I tell them he’s in heaven,” said Lopez. “Willie was a good man, a good father. Willie didn’t deserve this.”
“We waited so many years, a long time,” said Lopez tearfully. “I hope you can live with yourself. We suffer every day. You did a cowardly act.”
One son, Julius Clark, said he struggles with the concept of forgiveness, adding “My father may have wanted me to forgive you” as “he was a Christian man.”
“You shot him in the back!” said Julius Clark. “Enjoy your stay (in prison). I hope you find a boyfriend in there.”
“We have to forgive you to be free. We have to,” said Clark. “I have to free myself of the hate. I’ll work on it.”
Weathers imposed six years for manslaughter plus 10 years for the use of a gun. He added two more years for pistol whipping a customer in the bar. The judge said the prosecutor had trouble with “lack of cooperation of key witnesses,” and also “failing memories” of witnesses.
Weathers gave Gonzalez credit for already serving 998 days in jail and fined him $5,294. Gonzalez’s attorney submitted the case to the judge without making any comment.
